Guardian
by Cynamin
Summary: Heroes of Myth & Legend #2 - Sequel to "Phoenix." Angel learns the truth about his destiny, and learns he's not the only one with a mystical future...
1. Chapter One

##  Guardian

By [Cynamin][1]

_**Series**: Heroes of Myth and Legend #2. Sequel to "Phoenix."_   
_**Disclaimers**: If I owned them, would this be called fan fiction?_   
_**Spoilers**: My story "Phoenix." Starts immediately following that story and then proceeds into an alternate season 5. None of the Angel episodes after "Sanctuary" happened._   
_**Content**: B/A, of course! Have I written anything yet that wasn't?_   
_**Distribution**: If you have anything else of mine, you can have this. Otherwise, please ask._   
_**Notes**: Yes, you have to read "Phoenix" for this to make sense, because it picks up literally just hours later. If you haven't read it, it can be found at http://www.geocities.com/ladycynamin/fanfic/phoenix.html This is for everyone who begged me to write a sequel to "Phoenix." Here's hoping I can bring all of those loose ends to a close to everyone's satisfaction._   
_**Feedback**: Oh please oh please oh please!_   


* * *

  
**Part One**

Angel woke slowly, sore and still exhausted, but for the first morning in months he awoke content. He had absolutely no desire to move. One of his arms was draped over the shoulder of a beautiful blond, and unlike when she had first arrived in his apartment a month and a half ago he knew exactly how he'd met her and just how much he loved her. His night had been haunted by visions from his past, and for the first time ever he welcomed them. As many regrets as his past might hold, he never wanted to loose sight of it again. 

Several minutes after Angel had awoken, Buffy began to stir as well. She yawned. "Morning," she murmured. 

"Morning," Angel agreed. He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. "Well, just barely." 

"It was a long night," she explained. 

"Speaking of, how are you feeling?" 

"Better," she said. She grinned up at him and let her hand wander across his chest. She traced the scar she found there with her fingers. The image of a bird, its wings spread in flight. "Great, in fact. How about you?" 

Angel let out a lone sigh. "I'm…very good. Well, except for having more bruises than I can count and sore muscles I didn't know existed." 

Buffy chuckled. "I'll bet," she agreed. "That was quite a battle last night. You're lucky you don't have more than bruises to show for it." 

"Mmm," Angel acknowledged. He let his mind wander to the strangeness of the night before. Strange to think that twenty-four hours age he'd lived in ignorance of his own past, let alone things of darkness and his own strange possible future. It was a lot to process. 

"Are you sure you're all right?" Buffy asked, obviously concerned. 

"I was just thinking," he evaded. 

Buffy looked at him in understanding. "It's about what that weird lady said last night, isn't it?" 

"Jadwiga," Angel said, still slightly distracted. 

"Whatever," Buffy said dismissively. She shifted, making herself comfortable against his chest. "It's bothering you, isn't it? All that stuff she said about destiny and power and the Phoenix or whatever?" 

Angel did not look at her, but nodded. "Yes, it's bothering me. It's bothering me that her words felt true, yet I have no idea this morning what they mean." 

Buffy was silent for a long moment. "I'm sure it will be clear eventually," she assured him, though she didn't sound so sure of it herself. 

"Yeah," Angel agreed softly. He gave her a gentle squeeze around her shoulders. "And, if what she said was true, she'll be back." 

Buffy shifted uneasily. "Angel…" 

"What?" 

She pulled away from him slightly, leaning against his chest so she could look him in the eyes. "I don't trust her," she said strongly. 

"I do," Angel replied, certain of that at least. "I don't know why, but I do." 

For a moment Buffy looked like she was going to retort. Then she sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out eventually," she said. "I only hope it's not the hard way." 

Angel was about to reply to that when he heard footfalls on the stairs. He made a quick shushing motion at Buffy and sat up with her still against his chest. 

"Hello? Are you guys decent?" 

Both of them chuckled and slid out of bed. "It's safe, Cordelia," Angel called even as he reached for his robe. He glanced over at Buffy and smiled. 

Cordelia was at the bottom of the stairs when Angel emerged from the bedroom. She looked at him a bit oddly at seeing him in his bathrobe, but that was nothing compared to the look on her face when Buffy emerged. "Nice outfit," she teased. 

Buffy pulled somewhat awkwardly on the bottom of Angel's huge shirt that she wore to sleep in. "So I didn't bring an overnight bag," she muttered. 

"Speaking of," Cordelia said, looking amused, "you know that guy you're staying with this summer?" 

"Dad!" Buffy blurted in shock. "I didn't return home last night! I have to call him. He's got to be worried sick!" 

"That he is," Cordelia replied smugly. 

"Huh?" 

"He's waiting for you upstairs." 

Buffy let out an 'eep' and dashed back into the bedroom. Both Cordelia and Angel couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. Cordelia looked at Angel with a smirk. 

"What are you laughing at?" Cordelia teased him. 

Angel looked at her curiously. 

"You don't think Mr. Summers is going to want to meet you? The man corrupting his little girl?" 

"I'm not corrupting her," Angel defended himself. 

Cordelia just laughed. "Go get dressed," she said. 

Angel dashed back into his bedroom. He could hear Cordelia's laughter all the way up the stairs.   


* * *

  
Buffy's steps were very slow as she made her way up the stairs. She really was not looking forward to confronting her father. Not having seen her father much in the last couple of years, in had been nice to spend the summer with him. She hoped that whatever good standing she had with him hadn't completely disappeared when she hadn't gone back to his apartment last night. 

She nearly jumped when Angel placed his hand in the small of her back. "Hey," he said gently. "I'm right here with you." 

Buffy smiled at Angel gratefully, and they walked into the office side by side. 

Mr. Summers jumped out of his seat as soon as they made their appearance upstairs. "Buffy!" He rushed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What happened? Are you okay?" 

Buffy smiled slightly. "I'm okay, Dad." 

He looked at her a bit doubtfully. "Are you sure?" 

Suddenly Buffy realized how she must look. She hadn't had any choice but to wear the same outfit she's been wearing last night. It was smoke stained and disheveled. The bruise on the side of her face from when she'd been knocked out had faded significantly, but Angel sported quite a large, colorful bruise on his jaw. They looked quite the beaten up pair. "Um, really, we're fine now," Buffy protested weakly, running her hands over her once nice outfit. 

"What happened?" 

Buffy just looked at him for a second, unable to come up with a good excuse. "Um, we were mugged?" 

Mr. Summers' expression became even more doubtful. 

"Buffy," Angel said gently. 

Buffy jumped, and felt rather silly for doing so. "Oh," she said sheepishly. "Dad, this is Angel." 

The two men shook hands briefly. "It's nice to finally meet you," Angel said pleasantly. 

"And you," Mr. Summers replied, but he wouldn't be distracted from his question. "So what happened to the two of you, really?" 

Still, Buffy was flustered. "It's…kind of a long story." 

"I've got time." 

Buffy looked at Angel, silently pleading with him to come up with a good excuse. He shook his head slightly. "I think you'd better tell him. Everything." 

"Everything? Angel…" 

"Your mom knows," Angel pointed out. 

"Yes, but my mom's first reaction was to kick me out of the house," Buffy retorted. 

Both Angel and Mr. Summers looked at her in shock. "You never told me that," Angel said softly. 

Buffy shrugged. "Well, there are a couple of months of time that you and I don't talk about at all." She tried to cover up the darker emotions that lurked right under the surface of that statement, but Angel could see it in her posture and hear it in her tone of voice. 

"Buffy," Angel said gently. His eyes were pained. 

Mr. Summers cleared his throat loudly. "Not that this hasn't been fascinating, but you haven't answered my questions." Both Buffy and Angel looked at him in surprise, having been so caught up in old miseries that they'd forgotten his presence. "No, wait," he said suddenly. "New question first. Are the two of you…together?" 

Buffy and Angel looked at each other and exchanged identical uncertain looks. "I don't know," she said.   


* * *

  
"How do you think he took it?" Buffy asked herself hours later. She was back in Angel's apartment, sitting at the kitchen table. 

Angel leaned against the kitchen counter. "It looked like he took it rather well." 

Buffy looked up at him in surprise, as if she had forgotten he was there. "Sure," she said after a moment, "he _seems_ to be taking it well. Just wait. The real reaction will come when I go back to his apartment tonight." 

Angel tried not to let the disappointment on his face, but once Buffy turned her attention to him she did not miss a thing. Standing, she walked over to him and looked up at him in concern. "Angel? What is it?" 

He shrugged. "It's…I don't like to think of you leaving, even for a day. I've missed you." 

Buffy smiled tolerantly, brought out of her worries over her father by Angel's simple statement. "Angel," she said calmly, "I've been here for nearly two months now. How could you have missed me?" 

"Before that, I hadn't seen you except for once…twice…in an entire year," he reminded her. "These two months…I didn't know how much I'd missed you until today. I'm making up for lost time." 

Buffy grinned at him. "I missed you, too," she replied. Looking him in the eye, her grin faded as quickly as it had appeared. "About what my dad said…" 

"What?" Angel asked, not quite sure which part of the afternoon's conversation she was referring to. 

Turning her back on Angel, she paced the kitchen for a moment. "Are…are we together, Angel?" 

Angel looked down and sighed. Things had been moving so fast in the last twenty-four hours that they hadn't really gotten the chance to work such things out. "Buffy," he whispered. He waited for her to turn before he spoke again. Letting his emotions show clearly, his hope and his love, he reached out his hand to her. "What do you want?" he asked gently. 

Buffy hesitated only a moment. "I love you," she said by way of an answer. 

"And I you," Angel said easily. He smiled at her, and she stepped towards him again until they were merely a hair's breadth apart. 

"But," Buffy faltered hesitantly. "I have to go back to Sunnydale for class in just a week." 

"Yeah," Angel whispered back. "And I have things to do here. Plus…" 

"A new destiny to figure out," Buffy finished for him. Tilting her head up to look him in the eyes, she could feel his breath on her face. "So…" she breathed. 

"So…" 

"We try again?" Buffy asked hopefully. "Long distance? One day at a time?" 

Angel tilted his head towards hers and caught her lips in a brief but searing kiss. "One day at a time."   


   [1]: mailto:angelsgoodfairy@buffymail.com



	2. Chapter Two

##  Guardian

By [Cynamin][1]

_**Disclaimers**: If I owned them, would this be called fan fiction?_   


* * *

  
**Part Two**

"And so he said, 'You mean we've never gone out to dinner together before?'" Buffy told, laughing. 

Willow grinned back at her. "So what did you say?" she asked, leaning forward. 

"I said we'd never exactly been a normal couple," Buffy replied with a smirk. 

Instead of pointing out that Buffy's facial expression looked remarkably like one she'd seen on Angel, Willow just laughed. "So, what's it like?" 

Buffy took a sip of her soda. "What's what like?" 

"Being a normal couple. You and Angel." 

Buffy leaned back in her chair and frowned. "We didn't exactly have much time to be a normal couple," she explained. "You know, classes starting and all." 

Willow nodded. "I know. So what are you going to do now?" 

"Well," Buffy said slowly, "we're going to do the long distance thing. See each other on weekends…you know, see what happens." 

Willow chuckled. "That's great, Buffy, but that's not what I was talking about." 

"Oh," Buffy replied, sounding embarrassed. "Now I feel silly. What were you talking about?" 

"What are you going to do this semester?" Willow clarified. "I mean, last year you didn't know what you wanted to study. Have you decided on a major yet?" 

"Actually," Buffy replied slowly, "I'm thinking about sticking with psychology." 

"Really?" Buffy asked in surprise. 

Buffy nodded. "This summer, when I was with Angel and he had amnesia…I really wanted to do something to help, you know? But I didn't know what to do. And it's not like we could just take him to a typical psychiatrist." 

Willow chuckled slightly. "On account of his…unusual background. Wouldn't he have some…interesting stories to tell a doctor." 

Buffy couldn't help but grin at that. "Yeah, well, that and the fact that he was wanted by the police." 

Willow grinned at her. She'd missed Buffy over the summer. It had been very quiet in Sunnydale while she was gone. Even the demons had been laying low. Now Buffy was back, and her attitude was a sharp contrast from when she had left. She was no longer withdrawn and depressed, instead if anything seeming a little bit lonely. She didn't show it often, and it didn't seem to bother her much. Instead she threw herself back into her life: her friendships, her slaying, even apparently her coming schoolwork. This was the Buffy she had missed those weeks before she had left to spend the summer in L.A. 

"Are you upset that Giles and I didn't tell you that Angel was alive?" Willow asked after a moment. 

Buffy was silent in thought. She sighed. "If I was going to be angry," she said, "I would have been angry right when I realized you knew and hadn't told me. My reaction at the time was shock. So, no, I'm not angry." She paused. "Though why didn't you tell me?" 

"Giles…wasn't sure of how you'd react," Willow explained. 

"Yeah, well…" Buffy chuckled. "Maybe he was right to worry about that." 

"So," Willow said after another long pause, "are we going to see Angel any time soon? I'd like to see him, especially human and all." Willow was pretty eager at the concept, actually. She couldn't even picture Angel in the sunlight. 

Buffy shrugged. "I'm not sure." At Willow's puzzled look, she tried to explain. "There are some things going on…in Angel's life that may take a while to figure out. So for now I'm going to be visiting him." 

"Oh," Willow said, slightly disappointed. 

Buffy smiled. "He'll be here eventually."   


* * *

  
Angel stared at one of the candles sitting around his apartment. Its flickering flame was the only light in the darkened room. All the shadows beyond the table the candle sat upon were harsh and deep. One would never have guessed that upstairs sunlight flooded through the window. 

He sighed. The exhalation of air made the candle flame flicker and nearly die before springing to life once again. It was his breath that did that; his natural breath, not any unknown force. 

_Then what was it that put out the torches?_ Angel thought to himself. _It wasn't just chance that stopped those men from burning Buffy at the stake before I could rescue her. I know it wasn't._

"The Phoenix is ruled by fire," a familiar voice said from behind him. "In return…there are certain advantages." 

Angel nearly jumped, then spun to face the woman standing at the bottom of his stairs. "I couldn't stop her. She just walked right in," Cordelia said apologetically, running down behind her. 

"It's alright," Angel said gently, staring at the woman. "I've been expecting her." 

Cordelia gave him an odd look, then went back up the stairs leaving the two of them alone. 

For a long moment they neither moved nor spoke. At last, Angel stood and began turning on the lights. "You know," he said with his back to her, "it's rude to just read someone's thoughts like that." 

"I'm sorry," Jade said, sounding sincerely apologetic. "It's nearly as easy for me to hear your thoughts as it is for me to hear your spoken words." 

The lights turned on, Angel turned to look at the white haired, ageless woman. He could not help his curiosity overcoming his distrust of her. "My thoughts in particular?" he asked. 

Jade nodded. 

"If you're going to come in here unannounced," Angel said after a moment, "you might at least take a seat." 

Jade entered the rest of the room nervously, as if uncertain her welcome was genuine. Rightly so, Angel mused, seeing as how she had worked with a man who had purposely stripped him of his memories and had tried to kill Buffy. Still, it was obvious that she knew much that Angel needed to know about his new situation. At the same time that he remembered Jade wielding a knife and cutting into his chest, he remembered that without her both he and Buffy would most likely be dead. 

To say that Angel's feelings about her were mixed would be an understatement. 

As Jade sat on the couch, Angel wondered what his feelings about her would be at the end of the day. He really wanted to trust her…. "What were you saying when you came in here?" 

"About fire?" 

Angel nodded. 

Jade sighed. "The Phoenix can be – and nearly always has been – destroyed by fire. In return, while it – you – are alive, you'll have some minor control over it. When you're fully trained." 

Angel wanted to ask her what minor control meant, or what her idea of fully trained was, but first things first. "Nearly always?" 

"I told you – you broke the cycle." 

"Well, I was more than a bit tired when you told me," Angel replied pointedly. "Tell me again." _Tell me how I became this 'Phoenix,'_ he added in his head. 

"You didn't become the Phoenix. It's what you've always been," Jade answered his thoughts. Angel glared at the intrusion, but she ignored him. "When you came of age, when you were ready, there should have been someone there to train you, to help the Phoenix come into power. There wasn't, and instead you became a vampire." 

Angel sat back and took in what she was saying. He wasn't sure he believed all of this, but he knew that he needed to hear it. "Someone like you should have been there," he said, half questioning. 

Jade nodded. "For the Phoenix, there has always been…a guide. Someone to help with the transition and to step in when help is most needed. Right now, I am that someone, yes." She paused for just a second, having answered Angel's unspoken question once again. "Like the Phoenix, that being is nearly immortal." 

Angel coughed in surprise. "What?!" 

"Oh, we didn't get to that yet?" Jade asked, but her eyes were amused. 

"No, we didn't," Angel replied testily. _And you know that full well._

The corner of Jade's mouth twitched into a smile, but she didn't comment on his thought for once. "Yes, well…. I said nearly immortal, anyway. The one that came before me was killed shortly before you should have come into your power, and by the time I came you were lost." 

"Became a vampire, you mean," Angel said in understanding. 

"Yes," Jade acknowledged. "The Phoenix – its power, its spirit that you posses – was trapped. Even if it wasn't, it could not be reborn again for nearly 500 years. The world lost a force for good and gained something terribly evil in exchange." 

Angel didn't even comment on that. He knew what he'd been. 

"So…that brings us to where we met at last," Jade said. "It was a step in the right direction when you regained your soul, but I had no way of knowing whether – when you finally met a final death – whether the Phoenix would be reborn as it was in the past, or simply disappear. So, you see…when the time came, and the Phoenix had lived in you for 500 years, I had no choice but to force the rebirth. I worked with a man determined to see you dead anyway and saw that both you *and* the Phoenix were reborn…given a chance to start over." 

It was a bit too much for Angel to take in all at once; he'd have to sit and digest it all later. Well, at least it would be productive brooding… "500 years?" Angel asked in confusion. 

Jade sighed. "It's the life cycle of the Phoenix. At least, it _was_ the life cycle. The spirit lives in someone – always male, in case you're wondering – and becomes a…Warrior is the term you like?…for 500 years. When that time is passed it one way or another finds its death by fire and is reborn again in someone new." 

"But," Angel pointed out, feeling a flash of triumph, "I wasn't around for 500 years." 

Jade just looked at him. "How long were you in Hell, Angel?" 

Angel swallowed. "I don't know." 

"Exactly. The Phoenix was alive in you, dormant but there, for 500 years. Now, you're both reborn, to live another 500. In your case, really live this time." 

"Unless I die first," Angel muttered, beginning to understand. 

"No Phoenix had ever died before the 500 years had passed before you did," Jade said honestly. "Now, are you going to let me teach you what you can do, or do you want to repeat what happened the last time?" 

Given the choice between life and death, Angel would easily pick life. He just wondered how his friends were going to react to this whole 500 years business. 

Or…dear God….Buffy. 

   [1]: mailto:angelsgoodfairy@buffymail.com



	3. Chapter Three

##  Guardian

By [Cynamin][1]

_**Disclaimers**: If I owned them, would this be called fan fiction?_   


* * *

  
**Part Three**

It sounded a bit like someone was fighting when she arrived, but not quite. Coming down the stairs, Buffy could hear rhythmic blows and an occasional grunt. Then there was a particularly loud 'creak' from the chain on the punching bag, and Buffy winced. 

"Is that punching bag anyone I know?" Buffy asked with a chuckle. 

Angel stopped his workout abruptly and turned to face her, smiling. "Well, that depends," he said, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow. "It could be the random client that walked in today wanting me to find out if her husband was cheating on her. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was, but I'm not that kind of detective. Or, it could be Jade and her latest 'lesson.'" 

Buffy frowned at the mention of the strange woman. "I'm going to guess it's the later. What's she up to?" 

Angel sighed. "She showed up a couple of days ago. Now she's determined to train me to 'utilize all the abilities of the Phoenix.'" 

She tried not to laugh at his imitation of the woman's odd, accented voice. "It's more than that." 

"It's just…three days, and she is already _really_ getting on my nerves. She keeps using the word 'potential.' I didn't realize it was possible to hate a word so much." 

This time Buffy did chuckle. "I hate that word, too. It's always followed by the word 'but.' As in, 'Your daughter has great potential, but…'" 

Angel smiled back. 

"Okay, that's enough of that," Buffy said after a moment. She crossed the apartment quickly and flung her arms around Angel's neck. "Let's try that greeting from scratch." 

Angel grinned, then wrapped his arms around her and gave her a brief but passionate kiss. He pulled away after a moment, smiling even more. "Was that better?" 

"Mmm, much." 

Not pulling away a millimeter, Angel spoke. "I wasn't expecting you so soon." 

Buffy shrugged and gave him a mischievous grin. "I told my professor I had an appointment and had to leave early." 

"Buffy…" 

"What? It's not like we were doing anything important; she teaches nearly word for word from the textbook. And if I'd waited until after class it probably would have been another hour and a half before I could catch a bus." She looked at him a bit nervously. "You don't mind, do you?" 

"God, no!" Angel replied quickly. 

Buffy fought a smile from returning. "Because, you know, if you had an important date tonight I wouldn't want to get in the way." 

"You know what? I do have an important date." 

"Oh, really?" 

Angel nodded with a smirk. "Yeah. This really gorgeous young woman. I'm taking her out to dinner, maybe some dancing, hopefully no demon killing." 

"Well, then whatever shall I do while you're gone?" Buffy replied with a smirk of her own. 

Angel laughed outright at that. Such moments of good humor had become more common since he'd returned to the land of the living. "I'd never leave you anywhere," he said as he removed her arms from around him. "Just let me go shower." 

Buffy made a fake pout. "And here I thought you'd never leave me anywhere," she said as he walked away, her tone playfully suggestive. 

Angel turned around to grin at her again. "You keep that up, and I'll never _take_ you anywhere, either!" he retorted. "At least, not tonight." 

Buffy grinned back. "Go! Shower." 

Angel got in one last parting shot before he disappeared from view. "You love me, sweat and all." 

The truth? She definitely did, more every day.   


* * *

  
"500 years?" Buffy asked weakly. 

Angel tried not to cringe. "Yes," he said softly. Then he amended, "If I don't get killed first." 

Buffy pushed herself back slightly from the table. "That's….wow." 

"Yeah," Angel agreed softly, though in his heart he didn't agree at all. 

Buffy picked up his mixed emotions quickly, though. "I know it's not what you hoped for," she said, "but isn't it better than where you were months ago?" She leaned forward and added softly, so as not to be heard by other people in the restaurant, "A vampire?" 

Angel thought about the meal they had just shared, the days and nights they had spent together, the sunlight in the morning that was no longer forbidden to him… He smiled very slightly. "Yes, its better. Better to have an unnaturally long life than any length undeath, but still…." 

Buffy glared at him. 

"What?" Angel asked, fighting the urge to chuckle at her expression. 

"I bet I know what you're about to say," Buffy declared. "I know that this complicates things for you, but can't you ever be happy with what you have? I am." 

"Buffy…" Angel began to protest. 

"No, listen to me for a second," Buffy interrupted. "If you still have any arguments after I'm done, feel free." 

"Okay," Angel agreed a touch reluctantly. 

Buffy smiled at her small victory for a moment. "I live for today, Angel. I have since before I was called," she began to explain. "I know you like to think long term – probably something to do with the fact that you've seen a couple of centuries – but I may not even have a long term." 

"Buffy…" Angel tried to interrupt. 

"Hey!" Buffy cut him off. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to go seeking my death, but I could die tomorrow as easily as ten years from now. So I try not to think too far into the future. I want to be happy _now_ - and right now living two hours apart is more likely to cause us problems than any issues of mortality or immortality." 

She leaned forward then, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Besides," she said, amused, "let's say I do live to be seventy. Do you really think I'm going to object to being thought a cradle robber if I've got a gorgeous, sweet guy like you helping me around?" 

Angel couldn't help but chuckle at the image she presented him with. 

"So, did I kill all of your arguments?" Buffy asked. 

"Pretty much," Angel agreed. 

"We said we were going to try this relationship thing again," she reminded him. "So, we're never going to be a normal couple. That's nothing new. Don't start having doubts so early, okay?" 

"I promise," Angel agreed. 

Buffy smiled at him tolerantly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, honey." 

Angel smiled. She knew him so well. He wasn't going to let go so easily this time, though, he promised himself. If Buffy was still so determined to give him a shot, in spite of their long painful history, his most recent news, their differences, and the last year apart, then by god the least he could do was return the favor. 

"Are you ready to go?" he asked at last, holding out his hand across the table and smiling slightly. 

Buffy laughed, delighted. She knew that she'd on for the evening and that this subject would not be brought up again. "Definitely," she declared, rising from her seat. 

Angel rose with her, and the two of them walked hand in hand out of the restaurant. 

"So," Buffy said, obviously quite pleased with herself, "where to now?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Well, I'm your guest. Do you have a big night on the town planned or are we heading back to your apartment?" Buffy asked with a smirk. 

Angel couldn't help but grin in response. He was about to answer when something distracted him: one figure, shortly followed by two more, heading towards the corner of the building. "How about the restaurant's back lot first?" he replied at last. 

Buffy saw what he was looking at and made a disgusted sound. "Fine, but you'll have to make it up to me. This was supposed to be _our_ night." 

"I'm sure I'll come up with something," Angel replied even as they followed the vampires around the building. He took a stake out of his pocket and glanced to see that Buffy already had one in her hand. "How do you hide stakes in that outfit?" he asked. 

"Practice," Buffy retorted as they turned the corner. There they both saw two vampires, a male and a female, that had cornered a young woman in a waitress uniform who'd apparently come outside to smoke a cigarette. "Angel," Buffy said loud enough for both vampires to hear her, "I didn't know this restaurant had take out." 

The two vampires turned at her words, and the waitress took advantage of their distraction to run back into the restaurant. The female vampire saw the girl's escape and growled in anger. "Look what you did!" she cried. 

"Aw, I'm sorry," Buffy replied. "Did I make you loose your lunch?" 

The female vampire wouldn't take any more taunting and dove at Buffy. Then the battle was joined and Angel lost sight of Buffy as he faced off against the other vampire. The vampire was pretty strong, but Angel was quite pleased to find he was stronger. The vampire fought well, but he wasn't much of a threat. Angel and him traded blows easily, Angel just looking for the best opening to get his stake in. 

He had just about gained a clear upper hand when he heard Buffy cry out, followed by a dreadful metallic clatter. He turned quickly, which let his opponent get a good, solid blow into his side, staggering him. Angel spun on his attacker, no longer wasting any time in staking him, and was rewarded with a shower od vampire dust. 

He did not rejoice in his victory. "Buffy!" he called out, looking frantically for her. He spotted her quickly, fallen amidst an overturned garbage can and various debris. The remaining vampire was pressing her advantage before Buffy could get to her feet. 

If she was expecting an easy kill, she had a surprise coming. When the female vampire bent over her, Buffy suddenly kicked out with both legs, sending her careening to the ground near Angel. 

The vampire was stunned by its fall and didn't even notice Angel until a second before the stake struck its heart. 

That done, Angel scrambled over to where Buffy had fallen. Helping her up, he asked, "Are you okay?" 

Another voice interrupted her before she could answer. "You two make quite a team, don't you? I can see why you're the talk of…well, everyone." 

Angel sighed, but kept his attention on Buffy as she picked her way out of the trash. "What are you doing here?" he asked the new arrival. 

"You're here," Jade replied simply. 

Angel rolled his eyes, earning a chuckle from Buffy. "Are you sure you're okay?" Angel asked her again. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just…ew!" she replied, still brushing herself off from her fall in the garbage. 

Angel smiled and finally turned to face Jade. "New rule," he said calmly. "I know you've been without a charge for a couple hundred years, and maybe your people skills have suffered, but…don't interrupt us when we're on a date, okay?" 

Jade scowled and looked like she was about to retort when Buffy stumbled and clung to Angel wildly. 

"Whoa!" he said in surprise, grabbing her as she regained her balance. "I thought you said you were okay." 

"I am," Buffy retorted, though she didn't loosen her grip on Angel's arm. "I just got really dizzy for a second." 

"You should take her home," Jade said quickly. 

Angel glanced at the white-haired woman calmly. "That's where we were going before you showed up." 

There was an odd expression on Jade's face. "You don't understand what I mean," she said. 

Angel didn't have a clue what she meant. At the moment he was more worried about Buffy though. "You can tell me later, then," he said, and with that he began to walk Buffy back to his car. 

Jade's small cry of exasperation followed them out into the night. 

   [1]: mailto:angelsgoodfairy@buffymail.com



	4. Chapter Four

Guardian - Part Four

Guardian

By [Cynamin][1]

_**Disclaimers**: If I owned them, would this be called fan fiction?_   
_**Note:** I know this chapter is much shorter than the others, but it's really important to the plot. k?_

_My fanfic can now all be found at [http://www.ficgoddess.com][2]_   
Part Four Willow opened the door to her dorm room, tired from a long weekend study session. She was planning to go right to sleep. Instead, she found the television on some movie she didn't recognize and Buffy sitting in bed, wrapped in a blanket, eating ice cream out of the container and frowning. 

Willow dropped her books on her desk and looked at Buffy worriedly. Since her roommate had returned from L.A. she'd been looking forward to spending long weekends with Angel. "What are you doing here?" Willow asked. "I thought you were coming back tomorrow." 

Buffy's frown got even deeper. "I was. I wasn't feeling well, so I came back early." 

"Dizzy spells again?" Willow asked in concern. 

Buffy nodded. "Worse this time." 

Willow bit her lip. This had been going on for weeks now. The first time had been minor, and Willow had only heard about it in retrospect when the dizziness had recurred a week later. "I really think you should see a doctor," Willow said, as she had a week before. 

"But I feel fine now!" Buffy said back in exasperation. "It's not fair," she whined. "All I want is to spend a nice, romantic weekend with Angel. Instead, every time I go to see him I end up feeling sick. And minutes after I get back I feel right as rain again." She pouted. "How are we supposed to rebuild our relationship when I can't even stand up straight in his city?" 

Willow sighed. "I don't know. Maybe it's the air or something in L.A?" 

"Maybe," Buffy agreed reluctantly. 

"You'll never know if you don't see a doctor," Willow said. "Or, tell Giles, if you think it's supernatural related." 

"Okay, okay," Buffy agreed testily, closing up the ice cream. "I'll do it tomorrow." Buffy stood, put the ice cream away and began to put on her shoes. 

"Where are you going?" 

"You look like you want to go to bed," Buffy said. "I…need to go kill something. Don't wait up." Buffy was feeling worse than she'd let Willow know. Not physically – physically she felt energized, alive, and ready for almost anything. Which was exactly why she was so miserable. 

She wouldn't admit it, but this had been going on since well before the dizzy spells began. She could remember the way she'd felt over the summer, when she'd stayed in L.A. to take care of Angel. The longer she had been away from Sunnydale, the more dragged out and tired she had felt. She hid it well…and then the moment she got back to Sunnydale her energy returned. 

It was beyond exasperating. If this got much worse, sooner or later she wouldn't be able to visit Angel at all. He'd have to exclusively visit her in Sunnydale. 

Even worse still, it was taking longer each time for Buffy to recover. Even right this moment she wasn't feeling perfectly like herself. 

Yup, no doubt about it – the situation sucked. 

Buffy stalked through the cemetery, tapping a stake in her palm. Her mind wandered. She could feel Angel's arms around her as he supported her in her latest dizzy spell. She could see his worried face as he waited for her to regain her bearings. She could sense his hesitation at seeing her get in the car to head home. Then, as her mind wandered, the image shifted. Now she saw Angel as he looked when she first arrived at his apartment, the way his smiles lit up his entire face when he saw her. He never used to smile like that before. When he used to smile, and that was a rare event in itself, it had never quite wiped away the sadness that he lived with. Now, his smiles…god, she loved the way he smiled for her. 

A rustle nearby made Buffy snap back to her surroundings. She was near the crypts now; they loomed ominously in the darkness. Not the best place to be distracted after dark. She could sense a presence nearby, hovering just out of sight. She knew it was just as aware of her as she was of it. 

"Alright, come out," Buffy called, clutching her stake. "I'm really not in the mood for games tonight." 

A vampire separated himself from the shadows to Buffy's right. "No games, Slayer," he said, and his face shifted to reveal the demon within. "Just death." 

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Where _do_ you get your lines?" she said in disgust. "I'll tell you, no one just shuts up and dies anymore." 

"Oooh, she's feisty," another voice said from in front of her, revealing another vampire. "Will that make her blood taste better?" 

"She's a Slayer," a third vampire said as if it was obvious. "It doesn't get better than that." 

Buffy frowned as she noticed two more silent vampires standing nearby. Five against one wasn't good odds, especially since she only had two stakes with her. But she was one pissed off Slayer. There was no way they'd ever gone up against a Slayer as angry as she was at that moment. 

She pulled out her stake in one swift movement. The second talker seemed like a fair enough target; Buffy was guessing she was a newbie. She registered the shock on the vampire's face a second before the stake impacted, and a second before her companion vampire barreled into Buffy's side. The blow tore the stake from Buffy's hand, and it turned to dust along with the vampire she'd hit. 

In the split second before she fell with the second vampire on top, Buffy regretted the loss of her weapon. Then she hit the ground so hard the breath was momentarily knocked out of her. She wrestled for a second with the vampire on top of her before she managed to flip him off and spring back to her feet. Her battle stance was only regained for a second before another vampire was aiming a blow for her head. She dodged it, but that put her back in reach of the vampire that knocked her over. He grabbed her hard from behind, arms crossing over her chest and making it difficult for her to breathe. Another of the vampires approached her front menacingly. 

Buffy waited a second, then in one movement shoved her feet out into the stomach of the vampire in front of her and her head back into the chin of the one behind her. He released her suddenly and all three of them fell to the ground. Buffy rolled, springing back to her feet quickly. They knew how to fight together. Not good. 

"What is this?" she asked breathless. "Four against one? Whatever happened to playing fair?" 

"I thought you said no games," the apparent leader retorted. 

Buffy frowned. "Oh yeah. I did." She pulled out her second stake and rushed at him, hoping that taking out the leader would disperse the other three. 

The leader surprised her. A second before she connected he spun aside, grabbed her by the shoulders, and used her own momentum to fling her several yards. Buffy would have gone further but she collided with one of the crypts first. Her head struck the stone with a resounding crack and her vision swam. _Oh, eight vampires now. That can't be a good sign._

The vampires coalesced back into four, but before Buffy could take advantage of her regained focus two of them grabbed her and dragged her back into the fight. A third vampire struck her hard in the stomach, and she doubled over, her breath gone. In that second, while the leader strolled in for the final blow and Buffy hung there trying to catch her breath, she spotted the stake she had dropped seconds before. 

She waited a moment more for the third vampire to be close, then sprang straight again. In the split second where the vampires hesitated, she kicked one of the two holding her. It released her, and Buffy dropped in the second vampire's grip, grabbed the stake, and watched the other turn to dust. 

She rolled back to her feet, and her vision swam with the sudden movement. There were still three vampires left and Buffy wasn't doing so well. This would be a good time to make a strategic retreat. 

Translation? Time to run. 

Buffy stumbled to a run, sprinting away from the three remaining vampires. She dodged around the cemetery, knowing that she wasn't going to last against any sort of coordinated attack. Whether it was the dizzy spells she hadn't fully recovered from or the blow on the head, Buffy was feeling worse by the second. She was short of breath, her vision swam, and her balance was off. Not good at all. 

She stumbled over a low headstone and was unable to regain her balance quickly enough. She went crashing to the ground, her legs still tangled on the headstone. A second later one of her opponents caught up with her and went for her throat while she was down. Buffy rolled to her back, pushing the vampire away with one hand. With the other she tried to shove her stake into its chest. The vampire wrestled with her for the stake, trying to tear it away from her. When he couldn't do that, he twisted her wrist, changing the stake's direction. 

Buffy's wrist screamed in pain as she felt the bones grind together. The scream tore its way through her throat, but no one was there to hear it except the vampire. And, in that brief moment before the joy of unconsciousness, she felt the stake pierce her stomach at the exact same instant the fangs sank into her neck. 

   [1]: mailto:angelsgoodfairy@buffymail.com
   [2]: http://www.ficgoddess.com



	5. Chapter Five

**Guardian** by Cynamin 

* * *

**Part Five**

"You're ignoring me," Jade said in disgust. 

"I am _not_ ignoring you," Angel retorted, but he didn't look at her. Instead, all of his focus was on the punching bag hanging in the corner of his apartment. Even as he spoke he punched it forcefully. "I know what I'm doing." 

"Yes, Warrior, you know what you're doing," Jade replied, trying not to let her sarcasm show. On one hand she did have it easier than her predecessors. Her charge already knew how to fight, was in excellent physical condition, and was ready and willing to fight demons on a daily – or nightly – basis. But he also was over 250 years old. He was stubborn, _knew_ he was knowledgeable, and when it came right down to it a very reluctant student. Jade sighed. "You know what you're doing _as a Warrior_," she clarified. "That's not all you are anymore, and you refuse to listen to me when it comes to what else being the Phoenix means!" 

"I do not refuse to listen to you!" Angel yelled back, stopping his workout. "I have done everything you've asked of me since you showed up to 'teach' me. So what have I done wrong this time?!" 

It took an extreme act of willpower for Jade not to throw her hands up in the air and cry out 'why me?' "You've been ignoring your calling." 

Angel's brow wrinkled in confusion. "I don't know what you mean. I've been fighting…" 

Jade shook her head to interrupt him. "Your _Calling_, Angel." Seeing the look of confusion wasn't fading, she gestured for him to stop what he was doing and join her at the table. Didn't he listen to any of her lessons? "Sit down, please." 

Angel did as she asked, bringing a glass of water over with him. He looked at her expectantly over the brim. "Well?" 

"Calling," Jade clarified. "I mean that…sense that tells the Phoenix – you – where you are needed. You've always been a defender of one place, but that's not your job anymore. You need to be mobile, to destroy concentrations of evil wherever they may appear. Hence, your Calling." 

Angel looked slightly less confused. "I haven't … sensed anything." 

Jade sighed. On top of stubbornness, this was the biggest problem she'd been having with Angel. He had no problem at all with the physical components of what being the Phoenix entailed. It was the extra abilities and the…metaphysical components that he just couldn't get a hang of. He was only using half of his potential. The other abilities only popped up on accident, such as when he rescued the Slayer from being burned at the stake. "You should have," Jade snapped. "And if you did we would be in Seattle right now, but instead someone else had to be summoned to clean up that mess. It was…too close all call for several." 

Angel looked distinctly guilty. He leaned back in his chair. "What do you want me to do?" 

"Maybe…" She thought for a second. "You are familiar with meditation techniques, yes?" 

"Yes." 

"Then I want you to _really_ listen to me for once. We're going to actively try and summon your Calling, so that you'll know what it feels like in the future. Okay?" 

Angel nodded. "Alright." He shifted in his chair, obviously trying to get as comfortable as possible. 

"Okay," Jade said easily. "Just listen to me, and do what I say. I want you to close your eyes, and breathe deeply." She waited for a moment as Angel did what she said. "Now, relax, calm your thoughts, and concentrate. I need you to focus on the Phoenix, on the spirit that lives in you." 

"How…" Angel started. 

"Shh," Jade said quickly. "Just listen. Relax and concentrate. Think back to when we actually met, yes? When you and the Slayer were captured. When she was going to be killed, you saved her. You put out the fires with the force of the Phoenix." Angel grimaced slightly, but she continued. "You did not know what you were harnessing at the time. Remember how that felt. Feel the power inside you. The Calling is connected to that. It's…" 

Suddenly Angel gasped and his eyes snapped open. For a moment Jade was annoyed that he'd stopped when they were so close, but then she noticed the pain and panic in his expression. "Angel?" she asked urgently. "What is it?" 

His eyes focused on her for a second, then he stood abruptly. "Buffy," he said quickly. 

If that was supposed to be an explanation, it didn't help Jade much. "What about the Slayer?" But Angel was already moving again, rushing in and out of his bedroom…packing. "Where do you think you're going?" 

"Sunnydale!" Angel called from the next room. 

This time Jade did throw her hands up in the air. This was _not_ what the result of that little exercise was supposed to be. That was not what their destination was supposed to be! "Why me?" she muttered helplessly. 

But of course, no one answered. 

* * *

Spike was sitting in a plastic hospital chair when the first of the gang arrived in a rush. Giles, Willow, and Mrs. Summers didn't take much time to think about the odd image he presented, but it was there none-the-less. He was resting his arms on his knees, his focus on nothing in particular, and he looked…worried. Thoughtful, maybe, and not in a pleasant way. 

"How is she? Where is she?" Mrs. Summers asked frantically. 

Spike looked up, seeming startled. "I don't know." He paused. "The doctors took her that way," he gestured. 

"Is she alright?" Willow blurted. 

Giles spoke right on top of her. "What happened?" he asked. There was a hint of danger in his tone that was impossible for Spike to miss. 

He really looked at the three of them this time. "What is this? An inquisition or something?" 

"Spike…" Giles said, the dangerous tone in his voice no longer suppressed. 

"What? Are you suggesting _I_ did this?" 

"We're not…" Willow began, trying to make peace. 

"Did you?" Giles asked. 

"No! I _can't_, if you don't remember." 

Giles looked skeptical. 

Spike stood abruptly. A bloodstain showed dark on his shirt. Buffy's blood. "You know, I didn't have to bring her here! I could have left her to die and had a nice meal of Slayer blood!" Joyce gasped, and he glanced at her before continuing in a softer tone. "The point is, I didn't. I even called you lot knowing you'd probably accuse me! So I'd really appreciate the benefit of the doubt, here." 

Giles nodded slowly. "You're right. Now, would you tell us what happened?" 

"Aren't you going to say please?" 

"Spike!" Joyce yelled. "I will not have you acting all…whatever, while my daughter may be…" Her voice cracked before she finished, but the word "dying" still hung in the air. 

Spike sat back down slowly. "It was vampires. A group of them, probably, though she'd managed to kill off most of them before… I killed him, if you care. Staked him from behind while he was drinking her blood." Pride flashed across his face for a split second before he continued. "She was already unconscious, though. Bastard had decided to impale her with her own stake." 

Willow gasped. "Oh my…" 

"I don't understand," Joyce said slowly. "She should have been able to take care of herself. She always has before." 

"These…things happen," Giles tried slowly. 

Willow broke in the conversation in a whisper, and only her sob alerted them she was speaking. "She hasn't been feeling well," she said miserably. "On and off for weeks. She said she felt better…when she left. I shouldn't have let her…" 

"You really think you could have stopped her, red?" Spike pointed out. 

"But…I should have tried…." 

Joyce turned away abruptly. "I'm going to find out what's going on with my baby," she said strongly, cutting off the rest of them. 

"Of course," Giles agreed, and Willow nodded through her guilt. Spike's attention was down the hall instead. 

"I don't think you need to do that," he said softly. 

All eyes turned to see the doctor walking purposefully towards them. His gaze was carefully neutral…too carefully. 

"Oh," Willow whispered. "I don't think that's a good thing…" 

It seemed to take forever until the doctor made his way down the hallway and stopped in front of Spike. "You brought in Miss Summers?" he asked carefully. At Spike's nod he asked, "Are any of you family?" 

"I'm her mother," Joyce said quickly. "Please, my baby…" 

The doctor's expression was grim. "Why don't we talk about your daughter some place more private?" 

"No!" Willow said quickly. "Private is bad! Private means bad news. Please…" 

Joyce nodded. "Just say it, Doctor. Tell me what's going on. Tell _us_, because otherwise I'm just going to have to repeat it all anyway." 

The doctor looked over the anxious group. "Why don't we have a seat, at least." At that the entire group dropped into the plastic chairs. The doctor began slowly. "Your daughter was seriously injured, Mrs. Summers. She sustained a broken wrist and a blow to the head, but those were minor injuries comparatively. A sharp piece of wood pierced her stomach and she had another wound on her neck. However, she lost far more blood than either wound can account for. I'm afraid…" 

"_Don't_ finish that sentence," Joyce said, cutting him off. "_Please_." 

"Mrs. Summers…" the doctor tried reluctantly. 

A sharp cry down the hall interrupted him. "Doctor Daniels!" a woman still in sterile gloves called urgently, peaking out from around the door he had emerged from. "The girl…!" 

The doctor sprang to attention. "Excuse me," he blurted, before taking off down the hall. 

The four of them sat there for a moment in stunned silence. 

"What the _hell_ was that!?" Spike cried at last. 

His sentiment was echoed by a new arrival. Xander stood awkwardly just inside the hospital doors with Anya close behind him. "Uh…what did we just miss?" 


	6. Chapter Six

**Guardian** by Cynamin 

* * *

**Part Six**

"Nothing!" Willow declared in frustration. 

"Well, wait a little bit and then try again." 

"Giles!" she cried. "This was the _third_ try! No one's there – I keep getting the answering machine." 

"Did you leave a message?" Giles asked patiently. His voice was thick with fatigue. 

Willow looked at him harshly. "What sort of message do you expect me to leave?" she asked, trying not to whine. "I mean, 'Hi, Angel, this is Willow. Buffy's hurt. Come to the hospital now. Bye.' Buffy would kill me if I left a message like that and he got into a hideous car wreck so soon after he came back to life!" 

"Anyone know his cell phone number?" Anya suggested. 

Everyone looked at her oddly. 

"What? Everybody has a cell phone nowadays." 

Willow looked surprised at the very idea, but she started back to the pay phone anyway. "Well, I suppose it's worth a try…" 

"No need. I'm here." 

Willow and the rest of the group turned in surprise to see the figure in the waiting room doorway. Angel stood there, his face lined with worry, a woman none of them knew walking reluctantly behind him. "Angel!" Willow greeted, pleasantly surprised. "But…how…I never reached you." 

Angel shook his head, coming the rest of the way into the room. "You didn't need to. I already knew." 

"Extraordinary," Giles murmured to himself. He stood to meet the ex-vampire. "It's good to see you again, Angel. Though I wish it had been under better circumstances." 

Angel just nodded in greeting, then jumped to why he was there. "How is she? What happened?" 

Giles sighed. "She was attacked by a group of vampires and…very seriously injured. Spike brought her here, but the doctors honestly don't know why she's alive." 

"She's the Slayer," Angel said, as if that explained everything. Usually it did. 

This time, though, Giles shook his head. "It's more than that. She…she died soon after she was brought here. The doctors tried to save her, but they were all ready to tell us the bad news." 

"One doctor was like three words away," Willow added. 

Angel looked stricken. "But…she's not…I _know_ she's not…" 

Giles nodded. "She's alive. She…came back. The doctors have no clue how. They'd…they'd given up." 

"But she _is_ alive." 

"Yes." 

Angel sighed in relief, and his whole body seemed to relax with it. Then abruptly he got a serious, thoughtful look on his face. "Wait…does this mean another Slayer is going to be called?" 

"Oh!" Xander jumped in, catching the idea. "Are there going to be three Slayers? Because, you know, three tough girls…they could be like Charlie's Angels. Well, if Faith wasn't psycho…" 

Giles glanced at him to stop his babble. In truth, Willow suspected both Xander's babbling and Giles' patient seriousness were only serving to cover up their concern. "I honestly have no idea," Giles answered Angel. 

"I might." 

Giles looked past Angel at the odd, white haired woman. Everyone else's attention was on her as well. 

"Um, I don't know you," Xander managed to stutter. 

"This is Jade," Angel introduced. He was frowning slightly, and Willow remembered some of the stories that Buffy had told her. Buffy did not trust this woman as far as she could throw her, and Angel didn't look much happier with her presence. "She…helps me." 

Jade did not wait for any further response to be made. "You say she died and came back to life, but no one knows how?" 

"Exactly," Giles replied. 

"And…this has happened before? That is, I assume from your statements there are already two Slayers including her." 

"There are two Slayers," Giles explained. "But this is not what happened before." 

"She drowned," Xander spoke up. "I rescued her. CPR." 

Angel shot him a look, but it went unnoticed by almost everyone. Jade was nodding to herself, thoughtful. Willow could almost hear the pieces fitting together in her head. 

"Another Slayer will not be called," she said at last. 

Giles looked startled at that. "What? How do you know?" 

"I just do," Jade replied in a tone that indicated she would speak no further about it. Willow had the feeling that the woman knew more than she was telling, and both Giles' and Angel's expressions matched her suspicions. 

"I must leave now," she said abruptly. 

Angel looked very alarmed at that. "But…" 

Jade shook her head. "Just me. I…have things I must discuss with others. Stay here and take care of your Slayer. She will be fine, do not fear that, but until she is…" 

"I am needed here," Angel finished. He said that firmly, indicating that even if Jade had been about to say something else she could not have swayed him. 

"Of course," Jade said easily. "I shall return in time to continue your training." Anger or something very similar washed over Angel's features for a moment, but Jade ignored it. She simply swept out of the hospital without another word. 

Everyone looked at Angel oddly. It was Giles who spoke the question on everyone's minds. "Your training?" 

Angel looked more than a bit annoyed. "I don't want to talk about it." 

"Of course." 

* * *

Angel hovered in the doorway of the hospital room, needing to enter and at the same time reluctant to do so. Mrs. Summers was in there, hovering by her daughter's bedside. From the doorway, Angel's heart ached to see Buffy looking so…frail. She was bruised, bandaged, and she hadn't woken up yet. Angel wished that he had been there. Maybe if he'd been there, fighting by her side, she wouldn't be here now. No, no maybe. He knew she would have been all right if only he had been there. 

But he wasn't there. And he didn't know when or if he'd be able to stay at her side again. 

Except for now. Now he was here, and until she healed Angel would do anything in his power to make sure that she was safe. If Spike hadn't already killed the one that had done this to her, Angel would have found that vampire and given him a slow death. As it was, any demon that wanted to harm her would have to get through him as long as he was here. And that just wasn't going to happen. 

"Are you going to stand there all day? I know you don't need an invitation." 

Angel looked a bit sheepishly at Buffy's mother, shaken out of his thoughts of guilt and revenge. He walked slowly into the room. "Hello, Joyce," he said softly. There was an awkward silence between them. Angel slowly realized that this was the first time they had seen each other since Joyce had convinced him to leave Sunnydale over a year before. "Do you mind…?" he asked at last, honestly not quite sure what he was asking for permission for. 

"She'd want you here," Joyce replied calmly, gesturing at another chair by the bed. "She's been so happy, seeing you every weekend." 

Angel sat down, pulling the chair as close to Buffy as he could. "It's been…nice seeing her, too." _Nice, how inadequate_. And it wasn't 'nice' seeing her like this, at all. 

Silence stretched between boyfriend and mother once again, and Angel gently took the fingers of her uninjured hand in his own. He was so careful as not to disturb anything, not to hurt her. She made no movement or anything in response, but to hold her hand reassured Angel nonetheless. 

"So," Joyce said at last, "I understand that you're…alive now. Not a vampire, Buffy said." 

"Yes," Angel replied. He swallowed. "How is she?" 

Joyce leaned back in her chair. "Alive. And healing, even if the doctors don't understand how either one could be. She hasn't woken up yet, but they say not to worry. That she'll be in a lot of pain when she wakes up, anyway, so perhaps it's best if she's still…asleep." 

Angel nodded. "She'll be fine," he agreed. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Joyce smile sadly. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" 

Angel looked at her. She looked…tired. "Both, perhaps," he said. "Or maybe I believe that she's so strong in spirit and flesh that nothing can stop her for long. Not even this." 

Another silence between them, but not nearly as uncomfortable as the last. "Thank you," said Mrs. Summers finally. She stood. "I'm going to get some coffee. Would you like some?" 

Angel shook his head. "No, thank you. I'm still a night person, I'm not tired." He looked up at Joyce seriously. "I'm…just going to stay with her." 

She nodded and left the room, leaving Angel alone with unconscious Buffy and the machinery that told the doctors how she was doing. With Mrs. Summers gone, he could not take his eyes off her. With his free hand he gently ran his finger along her cheek, avoiding bruises and the bandage on her head. "I'm here, Buffy," he said in a whisper. 

His voice sounded loud in the hotel room, but he did not stop speaking. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. Oh, what happened Buffy? How did he manage to get to you, to defeat you?" In his heart, she was undefeatable, even if logic told him otherwise. "I should have been there. I won't let this happen again. I promise. I'll be here as long as you need me." 

And then, with an even softer whisper and a squeeze of her hand, Angel made a promise he knew he wouldn't be able to keep. "I'm not going anywhere." 

Buffy squeezed his hand back. 

"Buffy?" He wasn't whispering now. 

She blinked for a second, unfocused, then saw him and smiled very slightly. "Hey." 

Comforted and calmed, Angel smiled for her only as the room settled back into silence. 


	7. Chapter Seven

**Guardian** by Cynamin 

* * *

**Part Seven**

"And so there are baby birds everywhere," Xander was saying, arms gesturing wildly, "and I grab a broom, you know? And mind you, this _whole_ time I'm wearing nothing but a bath towel!" 

Willow and Tara laughed at the image Xander presented them with. "Oh god, Xander!" Willow said through her laughter. 

Xander nodded, laughing as well. "Uh huh! And so there I am, broom over my head, about to lose the towel. And that is when Anya comes in." 

That sent them laughing even harder. Buffy was joining in wholeheartedly, tears of mirth running down her face. A particularly hard laugh came all the way from her stomach only to be cut off with a wince. The sudden jolt of pain almost made her choke on her laughter. 

"Buffy!" Willow said, her own laughter cut off abruptly. "Are you okay?" 

Buffy scooted in her bed to get comfortable again. It didn't work. The pain was constant, and growing as the pain killers wore off. "I'm okay," she said reassuringly. "You were saying? So what happened?" she directed at Xander. 

Willow turned her attention back to him as well. "This isn't going to turn dirty, is it? 'Cause we know Anya." 

Xander just grinned. "Nah. Though there was a second…. Well, it turns out Anya is absolutely terrified of baby birds. So she ended up standing on the kitchen counter while I ran around with the broom, trying to herd birds out the window." 

They all chuckled. "That must have been an image," Buffy said, shifting in her bad once again. "Wish I could have seen it." 

Xander laughed lightly. "I'm glad you didn't, thank you very much." 

Willow grinned in agreement. "Yeah. What would Angel say?" 

"What would I say about what?" 

Buffy grinned for sure. "Hey!" 

Angel smiled back, then at the rest of the group in the bedroom. "I bring sandwiches," he said, raising the tray he was carrying slightly. 

Buffy couldn't help but look at him a bit oddly. 

"Your mom was making them when I got here," he explained at her look, putting the tray on the dresser. "I just carried them." 

"Thank you," Buffy said easily, taking the sandwich he offered her. 

Angel sat down on the floor next to the bed, taking a sandwich of his own. "So, what would I say about what?" 

"Huh?" Buffy didn't understand. 

"I heard my name before I came in," Angel clarified. 

"Oh," Buffy said, and felt herself blushing. 

"We were talking about Xander in a towel," Willow clarified, grinning from ear to ear. 

Angel nearly choked on the bite he was taking. 

"Willow!" both Xander and Buffy cried in embarrassment. Buffy looked at Angel, who was coughing. "Are you okay?" 

Angel stopped sputtering and looked amused. "That was the last thing I expected to hear." 

Buffy couldn't help but chuckle at the look on his face. The small laugh sent pain straight to her stomach. 

"Okay, I think it's time to call this visit short," Willow said abruptly. 

"No, Willow, you don't have to go!" Buffy protested, sitting up further. That aggravated the wound again and she fought not to wince. 

Willow frowned. "Uh uh. You're in pain. We'll visit you tomorrow." 

Buffy frowned, but part of her was relieved. She wanted to be cheerful for her friends, but she _was_ in pain. She just had one objection to make. "You just got here," she said to Angel sternly. "You stay." 

Angel chuckled. "Yes, ma'am." 

Soon after, Willow, Xander, and Tara had bid their farewells, leaving Angel and Buffy to their own devices. 

"Sit up here," Buffy demanded, gesturing at space on the bed next to herself. 

Angel hesitated a moment before sitting very carefully to cause a minimum of discomfort. 

Buffy grinned at him. "So, where have you been all day?" 

"Giles wanted to see me," he replied. "He wanted to talk about the Phoenix prophecies he found." 

Buffy chuckled. "He wanted to pick your brain and say 'hmm' a lot." 

"Yeah, that about sums it up." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner." 

"You can't be here all the time," she pointed out to him smoothly. 

"Doesn't mean I don't want to," Angel explained. "I don't like seeing you…." 

"So helpless?" Buffy supplied. 

"I was going to say 'in pain.'" 

Buffy frowned. "Yeah, well, I don't like it either. I hate being confined. I feel antsy. I should be out there, protecting people. Right now I can't even protect myself." 

"Let me do the protecting right now, okay?" Angel replied. 

Buffy pouted. "If I have to." She tried to cross her arms over her chest to make a good show of it, but that was a bit hard with the cast around her wrist. It was a lesser pain, but it hurt, too. 

"Your mom sent up your pain killers with the sandwiches," Angel said, reaching for the bottle of pills on the nightstand. 

"They put me to sleep," she complained. 

"Then sleep," Angel said. "Let your body heal." 

"But you just got here!" 

Angel handed her the pills and a glass of water. "I'll be here when you wake up." 

"You promise?" 

He kissed her gently on the forehead. "I promise."   


* * *

Buffy was sound asleep when Angel left her room several minutes later. He was very careful not to disturb her as he got up from the bed, but she didn't even stir. She looked so young and innocent at the moment that he had to smile slightly. Moving as quietly as two hundred and fifty years as a vampire would allow, he left the room and left her to sleep. 

Backing into the hall, closing the door behind him, he ran directly into Mrs. Summers. 

"Oh!" Buffy's mom said in surprise. 

Angel smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry," he whispered. 

"Why are you whispering?" 

Angel gestured towards the door. "She's asleep." 

Joyce let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good. She needs it." 

There was a hint of concern in her voice that Angel caught and he looked at her worriedly. "Is something wrong?" 

Joyce hesitated for a second. "We'll talk downstairs, okay?" she suggested. 

Angel nodded and followed Buffy's mother down the stairs. He spared a thought to realize that he hadn't actually spent much time in this house as even a tolerated guest. Far more often he'd snuck in Buffy's window without Mrs. Summers even knowing he was there. 

Sunlight flooded the downstairs, and Angel grinned. And under cover of darkness, yet. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" Mrs. Summers said easily, leading him to the kitchen. 

Angel smiled slightly. "I'm not used to being…welcome," he explained. 

Joyce smiled slightly. "It's good for Buffy that you're here," she said. "She was…well, a mess is an understatement…after you, um, died." She seemed reluctant to say that much and there were obviously other things on her mind. "She looks forward to seeing you every week. And look – sunlight." 

She smiled to soften the implication – Angel not being a vampire making all the difference – and Angel caught himself chuckling softly. Not being a vampire did make an amazing difference. 

"The point is," Joyce said at last, "that it's good for Buffy that you're here. It's…good you're here." She looked a bit flustered at her own admission. "Um…would you like something to eat or drink?" 

"No, uh, thank you," Angel replied, just as surprised by what Buffy's mother had just said as she apparently was. "There was something you wanted to talk to me about? I mean, aside from…?" 

"I'm worried about Buffy," she said abruptly. 

Angel wasn't really expecting her to say that. Not that the fact that she _was_ worried surprised him. "We all are," he said calmly. "But she'll be okay." 

He expected her to smile and say something along the lines of 'being an overprotective mother.' Instead she lowered herself into a chair with a heavy sigh. 

"What is it?" Angel asked, feeling his stomach tense in nervousness. 

Still Joyce hesitated. "I haven't told anyone else about this," she explained. 

Angel swallowed hard and was sure he paled. Demons didn't scare him nearly as much as those words had. 

Joyce went on regardless. "When Buffy was in the hospital, one of the doctors spoke to me. He was amazed at how fast she was healing. I could hardly tell him it was because she's the Slayer, but for once I was glad she was. Because of how fast she was healing, they agreed to release her from the hospital early, and you know how Buffy hates hospitals." 

Angel nodded. "So what's wrong?" 

"If she can heal faster than a normal person, than why isn't she better by now?" she asked helplessly. "I mean, she should be better by now, right?" 

Angel thought about it for a second. "She was quite seriously injured," he said calmly. "And there's no time table on Slayer healing." 

Still Joyce did not look any happier. "Shouldn't she have made some improvement, then?" 

"Wait," Angel said abruptly. "She's not healing?" 

"She's healing very slowly," Joyce clarified. "I'm afraid she may have to go back to the hospital, and I don't want to do that to her." 

"I would have thought she'd do better at home," Angel said, worry gnawing at his gut. 

"She's happier," Joyce said. "I want her to be better, though." 

Angel nodded eagerly. "So does she." 

Joyce sat back in her chair with a sigh. "I just hope she heals soon." 

Angel said nothing for a moment. Buffy should have been healing. The fact that she had been and wasn't now was certainly puzzling and a cause for worry. He hadn't the faintest clue what was going on. 

He swallowed his concerns and tried to put on a passive face for Mrs. Summers. "I'm going to check on her," he said, and left without another word. 

He didn't want Joyce to know how truly worried he was. She had enough concerns without him confirming them. But if she was telling the truth…she was right; Buffy should be healed already. Or at least nearly so. There was no reason her healing should have been slowing down. 

Or at least no reason Angel knew of. 

He had to check on Buffy and then talk to Giles. Still, he had no desire to wake her, so he entered just as quietly as he had left. He opened the door slowly and froze at the sight that greeted him. 

The bed was empty, and the windows open. Buffy was gone. 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Guardian** by Cynamin 

* * *

**Part Eight**

The entire 'Scooby Gang' was out in force, scouring the town of Sunnydale for any sign of the injured Slayer. The first reaction upon seeing her room had been to assume that she was taken away by force. Still, even injured, there should have been signs of a struggle. There was none – only the open window and empty bed. Angel had been in too much of a panic to have any clue _what_ was going on. Joyce had been even worse, but between the two of them they'd managed to call in Buffy's friends. 

It was Willow who had somehow managed to calm down enough to notice that a couple of Buffy's favorite weapons were missing. 

So they'd spread out through the town, searching. They'd been continually shocked, both by the fact that she'd gone out on her own and then that she wasn't right near by. It was a testament to her strength that she'd gotten so far as injured as she was. And at night yet, with demons and vampires likely out in force. 

Separated from the group, searching on his own, Angel's thoughts were a confusion of worry and guilt. 'I knew she was...feeling caged,' he thought. 'I should have stayed with her.' He was terrified that she'd be found by one of the neighborhood vampires or something worse and that he'd never see her again. All of this, and he'd never told her how important she was to him, how much he needed her in his life as he tried to make sense of his new destiny. He was afraid he'd never get to tell her. 

But fear and worry and guilt did not get him anywhere when it came to finding Buffy. He'd already wandered several of the cemeteries she was known to frequent, as well as the center of town, and there was no sign of her. It was as if she'd simply disappeared. His initial panic had faded with the knowledge that Buffy might have gone out on her own, but every step without finding her brought him closer to those original fears. 

"I've been looking for you." 

Angel froze at the familiar voice. _Of all the times…._ "Not now," he hissed, barely turning. 

Jade was starkly obvious with her white hair in the darkness. "I said I would be returning," she said calmly. 

Angel turned away from her, continuing his search. "Did you purposefully pick the worst possible moment to resurface?" 

She fell in step beside him, despite his significantly longer stride, and Angel could see her flinch at his tone. She was never easy to dissuade, though. "Where are you going?" she asked a bit breathlessly. 

"I don't know," Angel admitted, but did not slow in the slightest. 

"Would it help if I gave you a destination?" 

Angel halted and spun on her. "What do you know?" he nearly yelled. 

Jade looked a bit startled at his tone, and not for the first time Angel found himself wondering about her actual age. "I know you have ignored your Calling again." 

It took Angel a second to realize what she was referring to, to remember the argument that had recently sent him to Sunnydale in the first place. "I've had other things on my mind," he said flatly, going to walk again. 

Jade slipped in front of him to stop him, a look of exasperation on her face. "You are the only embodiment of the Phoenix I have heard of," she said, "who has consistently ignored your duty." 

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Angel replied angrily. "I have done my duty to the Powers That Be for years now. I fight demons; I make amends! But right now, my duty is to Buffy, not to them." 

Jade looked confused and a touch flustered by his tirade. "Where is the Guardian?" she asked more softly. 

Angel had assumed that, with the precise timing of her arrival, Jade knew what was going on. It was slightly…humanizing to see her as fallible. It was also abruptly obvious that she was doing as he had repeatedly asked and not reading his mind. He forced himself to calm. "I don't know. She disappeared from her home. All of her friends are out looking for her." 

"And you?" 

"Of course," Angel retorted. 

She looked at him contemplatively for a moment. "Where is your hellmouth?" she asked. 

"What?" Angel couldn't see the logic to the question. 

"Your hellmouth," she repeated. "The Guardian exists because of the Hellmouth. She may be drawn to it." 

Angel did not so much as pause to decipher her statement. He knew Jade well enough at this point to know that she'd explain eventually, after the crisis was past. Without a word, he headed with quickened steps in the direction of the old high school. He was vaguely aware of Jade running right on his heels. 

The old high school sat isolated on its grounds, a black, burned out skeleton against the nighttime sky. It was a forbidding structure, still marked off by fading police tape. Angel hurried onward, not taking in the sight. If there was any chance Buffy was here, he wanted to find her _now_. To make sure she was safe. 

Even with Buffy in danger, Angel entered the structure with some degree of caution. This was the first time he'd been in the old high school since…well, since shortly before they'd blown it up. Its blackened walls did not look that stable, and the floor was cracked and rubble strewn. Behind him, Angel could hear Jade stumbling slightly in her thick heeled shoes. 

Closer to the Hellmouth itself – beneath the old library – new sounds made themselves known to Angel. Impacts and occasional vocalizations – the sounds of violence – spurred Angel onward. He was nearly running towards the library now, towards that battle in progress. One part of him was sure that Buffy was not there – there was no way that she would be fighting now. The majority of him, though, was certain she was there, and would die at any moment if he did not arrive at her side. He moved still faster across the uneven ground. 

Her injuries _should_ have prevented her from defending herself. 

What he found instead, as he ducked through the crumbling door frame to the old library and blast center, was a vibrant warrior. He froze. Buffy moved as if she'd never been injured, her battle steps flowing between one move and the next. The vampires she faced cowered in front of her. She was not a person, but a force. 

Angel watched with a shade of awe. Were it not for the cast encasing her right wrist, he would have thought her…inhuman, in an unbeatable sort of way. Even that cast became a weapon, striking out like a club. As Angel watched, one of the vampires that had not yet succumbed to dust broke from the battle, rushing for the exit. Heedless of the danger ahead, his only though was obviously fleeing the empowered Slayer. Angel barely had to put any effort into staking the terrified vampire. 

His attention returned to Buffy after barely a moment, but that momentary distraction was all she needed to get rid of one more of her opponents, leaving only one remaining vampire. He was large and obviously battle trained, but that was no problem for Buffy. Within moments, before Angel could possibly move to assist her, the last vampire was vanquished, sent plummeting into the gaping maw of the hellmouth and possibly even to hell itself. 

It was over before Angel really had time to sort out what he was seeing. 

Silence echoed in the blackened room. Buffy's back was to Angel as she stared at where the vampire had vanished. She was trembling slightly and breathing heavily. 

"Buffy." 

She spun to face Angel, and for a moment he was taken aback by her expression. There was a sense of barely suppressed violence about her. Then that was gone, leaving only confusion and disorientation in its place. 

"Angel?" she gasped. 

He could see the confusion turn to panic on her face, and see her trembling turn to all out shaking. He rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her a moment before her legs gave out. He cushioned her fall, kneeling with her and pulling her into his lap. Her hands fluttered about her, fumbling with her shirt and the bandages underneath. Her trembling, unencumbered hand revealed flesh unscarred to both of their gazes. 

Buffy let out an inexplicable sob and collapsed into Angel's chest. "He killed me," she said, barely comprehensible. "He did, and now I killed him. A life for a life." 

Angel cradled her to him, feeling her tears wetting his shirt. He whispered sweet, comforting nothings, soothing sounds, as his gaze drifted over her head to the strange, white-haired woman standing in the doorway. Jade caught his gaze and simply nodded. 

In his arms, Buffy's sobs and shaking continued in pure emotional release. 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Guardian** by Cynamin 

* * *

**Part Nine**

"You're leaving now, aren't you?" 

That was how Buffy greeted Angel the next day when he stopped by her home. It hurt her to say it, like a stone lodged in her stomach, and she could see the pain flash in Angel's eyes. He'd gotten worse at hiding his emotions since his rebirth as the Phoenix. His pain hurt Buffy even more than her own…but right now it was necessary. 

"I have to," he said back softly. "Jade was right. My…duty is pulling at me." 

Buffy swallowed. "I know," she replied. "Stay safe for me?" 

Angel sat beside her on the couch. "Of course." 

She sighed and restrained herself from reaching out to touch him. "I wish I could go with you," she whispered. 

"Maybe someday…" Angel began to reply. 

Buffy fought back a bitter chuckle. "I can't," she said miserably. "I can never leave home again." 

Angel looked at her, both alarmed and bewildered. "Don't talk like that," he said. 

"It's the truth," Buffy said with a sigh. "Jade and I had a long talk earlier this morning." 

A dark look crossed Angel's face. 

"I trust her now," Buffy tried to explain. "She'll keep you safe, since I can't." She tried and failed to keep the misery out of her voice. 

"What are you talking about?" Angel asked calmly, taking her hand in his. 

She looked at their joined hands for a moment. "It turns out you don't have to worry about the whole mortal-near-immortal thing," she said sadly. "Jade says this happens sometimes to Slayers in the 'right combination of events.' I'm the Guardian of the Hellmouth now. As long as the Hellmouth here exists, I'll exist." 

Angel gaped at her for a second. "This…. You're not pleased?" 

Buffy thought it odd that he asked that, he who'd always despised his own immortality. Perhaps he was still in the first stage she'd been in, stuck on the romantic idea of two immortals together. A romantic concept, yes, but impossible. "There's a catch," she said. 

"Of course," Angel replied with a touch of sarcasm. 

"I'm tied to the Hellmouth," she said. "Remember how I wasn't healing? Injured, even this little distance from here to the Hellmouth was harming me." She looked at him miserably. "So you see, I can never go with you." 

Angel slipped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a little squeeze. 

"So I guess this is where we say goodbye," Buffy concluded sadly. 

"No," Angel contradicted her. "This is where we say 'until I return.'" 

Buffy shook her head in denial of hope. "You can't promise…." 

"I can, and I do," Angel replied. 

"I won't hold you back." 

"You could _never_ hold me back." 

"Damn it, Angel!" Buffy cried. "I'm trying to set you free!" 

Angel smiled at her. "I don't want to be set free, Buffy," he explained easily. 

Buffy looked away from him. "You're the Phoenix," she said. "You're…meant to fly away." 

She could feel a touch of amusement from Angel at her use of metaphor. "Even a Phoenix needs to have a nest somewhere," he said in turn. "I want that to be with you." 

They did not kiss in the minutes that followed, nor did they say 'goodbye' when Jade arrived at the door to take Angel away. 

"Until I return," Angel said. 

"I'll be here," Buffy replied. She looked at Jade seriously. "Take care of him." 

"I will," Jade replied with a smile. "It's my job, after all." 

Buffy stood watching as Jade ushered Angel from the house. Just short of leaving, the white-haired woman turned and smiled again. "The Phoenix and the Guardian are one," she said, and it sounded like a promise. 

Buffy was left staring at the closed door. Those final words had blossomed into some inexplicable hope within her. That hope, she knew in that moment, was sure to last her centuries.   


* * *

**The End...of this story**   
I know, that was mean. I'm working on the sequel, though, really. Stay tuned for "Soulmate"! 


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